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Often times people get caught up in the moment and proclaim that whatever is now is best. “Lebron James is the greatest of all-time”, “Green Bay Packers are on the verge of a dynasty”, “Dirk Nowitzki is the 2nd best Power Forward of all time”, etc. Hyperbole dominates our world in the 24 hour news cycle…so I figured I’d join in. I am not going to say that Tim Thomas is the best goalie of all time, but he did just have the greatest season of all time.

Heading into this season it wasn’t even clear that Tim Thomas would be the Boston Bruins full-time starter in net. He had suffered a hip injury in the previous season and lost his job to a bright young prospect, Tuuka Rask. Tim Thomas is a fighter. He rebounded from his injury and turned in a spectacular regular season.

Regular Season Stats

Record: 35-11-9

Shutouts: 9

Goals Against Average: 2.00

Save Percentage: .938

Those numbers are historically good. His save % mark of .938 is the greatest ever. What is even more impressive is that the Bruins gave up a ton of shots during the regular season. He is a slam dunk for the Vezina Trophy, and really should have been given serious Hart Trophy consideration. He was clearly the MVP of the Bruins during the regular season.

Post Season Stats

Record: 16-9 (emphasis on the 16 because that is all that really matters)

Shutouts: 4

Goals Against Average: 1.98

Save Percentage: .940

Tim Thomas’s post season is perhaps more remarkable than his regular season. Thomas played a ton of games during the regular season, and I sure thought that perhaps his 37 year-old body would wear down during the grind of the playoffs. That never happened. Then just when you thought Tim Thomas couldn’t play any better, he took his game to another level and dominated the Stanley Cup Finals. He hit was clearly in the heads of the Canucks. Vancouver lost their minds. They complained about being out of his crease. Bieksa had the nerve to call him “leaky” after game 4. Luongo told the world that Thomas sucks and that he is better after game 5. Thomas even nailed one of the Sedin Sisters and almost fought Burrows. The guy did everything and completely deserved the Conn Smythe. Nobody else was really in the discussion.

The numbers don’t lie, but they don’t tell the whole story either. Thomas is a hockey player. He is confident, aggressive, a battler, a leader, a class act, humble, clutch, and easily the most entertaining goaltender I have ever witnessed. Hats off to Thomas on the greatest season ever by a goalie.